About the Book

This book, based on extensive original research in the field, analyses the political, social and cultural implications of the rise of Islam in post-Soviet Russia. Examining in particular the situation in Tatarstan and Dagestan, where there are large Muslim populations, the authors chart the long history of Muslim and orthodox Christian co-existence in Russia, discuss recent moves towards greater autonomy and the assertion of ethnic-religious identities which underlie such moves, and consider the actual practice of Islam at the local level, showing the differences between "official" and "unofficial" Islam, how ceremonies and rituals are actually observed (or not), how Islam is transmitted from one generation to the next, the role of Islamic thought, including that of radical sects, and Islamic views of men and women's different roles. Overall, the book demonstrates how far Islam in Russia has been extensively influenced by the Soviet and Russian multi-ethnic context.

Table of Contents

List of figures and illustrations Acknowledgments Note of transliteration Glossary Introduction Part I The Public Face of Islam 1. Islam in Russia: An Historical Perspective2. Islam and Power 3. Official and Unofficial Islam Part II The Private face of Islam 4. Islam and the Search for Identity 5. Practising Islam: Rituals, Ceremonies and the Transmission of Ethno-Islamic Values 6. Islam in Multi-Ethnic Society: identity and Politics 7. Narratives of Gender among Russian Muslims Conclusion Timeline References Index